Marble Red Ale

Brewed by Marble Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Cask (gravity dispense) at Great British Beer Festival, day 4 on 5 August 2011. One of a surprising number of beers from New Mexico at GBBF - how’d that happen? Coppery colour more than red. Excellent hop presence in the aroma - a good mix of pine, grapefruit and herbaceous. Just a touch of toffeeish malt. Firm hoppy stuff on the palate too. This sort of thing can descend into a rather sticky, caramel mess but no such issues here - the hops and firm mouthfeel kept everything in check. Well-balanced and most enjoyable.

Growler from the brewery. Dark red color with light tan head. Light aroma of toffee. Nice full flavor with some caramel sweetness and a hoppy bitter finish. Creamy mouthfeel. Among the best red ales that I’ve tried.

On tap at the brewery in Albuquerque, NM. This redhead is the right balance of bitter and sweet. Would definitely drink again. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle. Pours clear mahogany with a large, frothy off-white to light tan head, medium-long retention with excellent lacing. Aroma is fragrant floral, citrus, and pine hops, some resin, cookie and biscuit malt with fruity esters of pear, apricot, and apple. Flavor is moderate hops and bitterness with supporting, lightly sweet malt backbone and fruity esters with a dry finish. Medium body and carbonation.

Pour on tap at Old Chicago, dark red pour with thin white head, aroma brought notes of muted spice and grass, some caramel, toasted notes, hints of bread, nuts in there, slight toffee and dark fruits as well, pretty layered. Taste is a nice mix of slight grass/floral hops, hints of citrus right into some spice, bread and caramel, nuts and cocoa notes come through, hints of toast, finishing fairly dry and slightly bitter. Pretty nice, nothing over the top here but all worked together well.

Hazy amber - compact, lasting head - aroma is a mixture of toffee, earthy/woody/citric hops, light bright fruitiness - creamy texture, with soft carbonation - sturdy malt base that tastes of sweet toffee at first, but as the hops become more apparent, the malt is a bit more Biscuity - hops arrive through the middle, tasting a touch peppery, moderately citric - snappy and firm through the middle, with just a lightly sweet finish, with lingering peppery hops - a killer "amber ale," but really more like a "red IPA."

12oz bottle poured into a Shaker at 40°. Color is a hazy amber with good carbonation and a thick tight off white head. Aroma is a fruity citrus hop scent. It has a medium body that goes down with a crisp mouth feel. Flavor has a sweet fruity feel, then roasted malt, toffee, a hint of pepper and ends with citrus hop spice giving off a mild bitterness. In the after taste the citrus stand out a little more, a bit of pine shows and the bitterness holds on. Overall its a good Amber, a lot hoppier then most.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, creamy, light brown, fully lasting. Body is dark amber/red. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain, cookie), moderately hoppy (resin, grapefruit), with a note of black tea. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, creamy texture, soft/lively carbonation. This would score higher if not for personal preferences...it’s not really flawed, per se, it’s just not the sort of execution I like. First issue is the hop odor...just not a fan of that rough resinous-grapefruit rind treatment. Just too reminiscent of floor polish etc. Likewise, in the mouth it’s rather citric/acidic, which I’m not a fan of, even though it’s overall well-balanced. But it’s clean, looks great, and has a nice mouthfeel. This is the sort of beer that would score in the high 3s for me if it was simply more elegant and polished, rather than done up in the typical American rough-edged, abrasive format.

Up front sweet hop nose, blended with carmel-y notes. Dark ruby red, with light head. Medium earthy sweetness, rounded out by a nice piney hop bite. Lively and dry on the palate. A damb fine red ale! This rivals Odel’s Red.

Bottle. This is my second beer from Marble and it is very good overall. Aroma shows off hops but is softened by the malt balance. Deep amber color with a little red, nice head, a little cloudy. Full flavored with no problems. Very well done for this style.

Pours a nice clear amber. Little head. Aromas of malt, hops, candied sugar and a touch of alcohol. Initial taste is malty, smooth a crisp. Has a nice hop bitterness. Almost a rye-esque flavor. Usually not a big fan of reds but this one is quite delicious. If you can find it...try it.